Welder with dyslexia manages to earn his ticket

Motivation, support make dream a reality

Patrick Dufault with his welding gear in front of Portage College in Lac La Biche on June 11, 2013.

Patrick Dufault remembers many people telling him he would never be able to be a welder because of his learning disability.

Dufault has primary dyslexia, which causes him to struggle with reading, spelling and writing.

"I wanted to become a welder as far back as I can remember, from when I was in Grade 3 or 4," said Dufault, 34.

But Dufault's path to the trades came with challenges. He quit school in Grade 10 because he was in a special class but didn't feel he was learning as much as he should be.

The year after, Dufault went to Portage College in Lac La Biche, Alta., about 60 kilometres from the Buffalo Lake Metis Settlement where he was raised.

At the college, he upgraded his classes and took the prerequisites he needed to enter the trades, seeking help along the way from the Learning Assistance Centre.

"If it wasn't for the Learning Assistance Centre at the college, I wouldn't have ever got my welding ticket," Dufault said.

The centre provides information and one-on-one assistance in various areas for all students, and offers specialized supports for students with disabilities.

Dufault said when he was studying to become a welder about 10 years ago, staff at the centre read all his books onto tapes, tutored him and helped him out as much as they could.

"At first, when I was getting ready to enrol in welding, I honestly didn't know how I was going to be able to do it," Dufault said. "There were 2-1/2 binders every eight weeks in course work, and I would do about three to four hours of homework every night. I was still failing tests and having to repeat things."

Dufault said the extra support he received from the Learning Assistance Centre, along with a lot of hard work, helped him complete his apprenticeship.

"In my last year, I got a computer that scans everything and reads it to you, and the centre helped with all that. Many of my welding instructors were really great, too," he said.

Still, the words of some of the naysayers he had met along the way stuck with him.

"It motivated me more when they said I couldn't do it. I was doing it to prove them wrong; it was almost like a challenge," Dufault said.

For the last seven years, he has owned a welding truck and runs his own business, Iron Knight Services Limited. He currently works on a drilling rig in Conklin.

"I'm my own boss. I'm independent and can pick the jobs, working what I want, when I want," he said.

Dufault said the people he works with understand his situation and help him out whenever they can.

"They'll tell me what's going on verbally instead of handing me paperwork. It's a good group of guys that I work with," he said.

Maria Smosarska is manager for Alberta Human Services, which worked with the Learning Assistance Centre when Dufault attended Portage College, providing client support and offering career and employment options.

"Our long-term objective has been to increase the participation and success of persons from under-represented groups in the college programming and ultimately the labour market in Alberta, especially in trades and technology," Smosarska said.

Smosarska said those underrepresented in the labour market include people with disabilities (physical and learning), aboriginals, women, youth, immigrants and older workers. Engaging such workers is essential in solving an impending labour shortage, as an aging population and economic growth creates a serious shortage of skilled workers in the province.

The Alberta government predicts that employers will need 114,000 extra workers through to 2021. Of those workers, almost one quarter will be tradespeople, transportation and equipment operators, and workers in related occupations.

For Dufault, achieving his welding ticket has led to an interesting and varied career. He says his career path likely would not have turned out this way, had it not been for the extra support he received along the way.

He has advice for others who might be in a similar situation.

"There's a group of people that say you can't do it, but that doesn't mean that they're always right. There's always another door to open up, a different way to go about it," he said. "If you can't do it that one way, there's always another avenue around the corner that you can take."

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